• Sports Minister yet to allow SLC-appointed Asia Cup Tournament Director Ravin Wickramarathne to travel to UAE 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) are likely to face challenges in co-ordinating matters related to the Asia Cup 2022, which is scheduled to begin on 27 August in the UAE, as the SLC’s representative is yet to receive permission from the Sports Minister to leave the country to get everything in order before the tournament begins. SLC Vice President Ravin Wickramaratne, who was appointed by the SLC as its Tournament Director for the Asia Cup 2022, was reported to have been prevented from travelling to the UAE by Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe last week. The reason given by the Minister for this action was that he did not want any SLC official to be appointed as Tournament Director for an international tournament. His request to SLC was to appoint an independent person to the post. However, the appointment of such roles is under the sole authority of SLC, which retains the right to appoint an individual as they see fit. Due to this clash between SLC – an independent sports body in Sri Lanka – and the Sports Ministry, these matters appear unable to be resolved within the country. Sources observed that the likely outcome is that the progress of the tournament will be hampered, with the SLC’s reputation taking a hit in the process.